system degrades people,
doesn
Freehold resident says
system degrades people,
doesn’t mesh with reality
BY LARRY RAMER
Staff Writer
LARRY RAMER George Zilbergeld of Freehold Borough, chairman of the political science department at Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, has authored “A Reader for the Politically Incorrect,” a collection of essays about the PC phenomenon.
George Zilbergeld is not at all politically correct when he describes the political correctness (PC) movement.
"Political correctness is a belief system that degrades certain groups of people," he said.
Zilbergeld has compiled a number of essays about the PC phenomenon — many of which he wrote — into a book called "A Reader for the Politically Incorrect."
Zilbergeld, a resident of Freehold Borough, is a professor in and chairman of the political science department at Montclair State University, Upper Montclair. He said political correctness is a small, growing, vocal movement that believes history consists primarily of oppressors and the oppressed. According to disciples of the PC movement, people are and have always been oppressed because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, tribes and class, the professor said.
And who are the primary oppressors now, according to the PC devotees?
"The oppressive groups are now identified as western civilization in general, the United States in particular, white people, men and heterosexuals," Zilbergeld said.
Political correctness teaches people to judge other individuals based on their group identity, he said, adding that PC devotees believe that equality, rather than liberty, should become the prime value of western civilization.
In the PC movement, people are taught to believe that white people, the United States and western civilization are inherently evil, the professor said. PC devotees believe that powerful white men and rich people have an unfair amount of rewards in society at the expense of the allegedly oppressed groups, Zilbergeld added.
Zilbergeld’s book describes how the "oppressor" groups are sometimes degraded on college campuses. One article in the book relates an incident in which university students were taught that only white people can be racist. Another article describes how students were shown a movie in which white people were humiliated so that they could "identify with people of color." The book recounts several incidents in which students were punished or reprimanded for not being sensitive enough to homosexuality. Another article quotes a professor who equates western civilization with white supremacy.
Zilbergeld contends that teaching students to hate certain groups of people can lead to terrible results.
"The teaching of group hatred is very dangerous. I think the last century shows that it is not a good idea," he said.
Many disciples of the PC movement can be found on college campuses, where they have become a vocal and powerful minority, Zilbergeld said. The devotees of the PC belief system usually do not allow opposing ideas to be discussed in universities, he added.
"They say they do not have to show different points of view because the outside world contains other points of view, but that’s like saying we don’t need liberty in New Jersey because we have it elsewhere. It also ends the idea of the university that is open [to different ideas]," Zilbergeld explained.
Zilbergeld said one of the primary reasons he compiled "A Reader for the Politically Incorrect" was to provide students with the confidence, knowledge and ability to challenge PC ideas they hear in college and at universities.
For example, the book contains two essays by Zilbergeld criticizing affirmative action, "Affirmative Action Is Immoral and Dangerous" and "If Racial Preferences Are So Unpopular, Why Are They So Prevalent?" Other articles attempt to explain and refute some of the ideas that, according to the book, form the "philosophical origins" of the PC movement. These concepts include multiculturalism and the belief that there is no universal system of morality.
Zilbergeld claims the PC movement is negatively impacting college students’ ability to learn useful skills.
"The [PC movement] substitutes indoctrination for education. An enormous amount of students’ time in colleges and universities is wasted by the PC movement," he said.
Students learn a new, politically correct vocabulary — for example, they are taught to say "becoming hegemonic" instead of "gaining power" and "deconstruct" instead of "analyze." Since they have to spend a substantial amount of time learning these terms and values, they have less time to learn how to read, write, analyze and research, Zilbergeld contends.
Students who have not had good opportunities before college, including many minority students, are most hurt by this phenomenon, the professor said. In his article "What Is Lost With a Politically Correct Education?" Zilbergeld expands on these ideas.
He said that as a theory, political correctness does not dovetail with reality.
"Political correctness is saying the United States is such a terrible place, but I look and see people coming here from all over the world and a vast majority of them are people of color," he said.
Zilbergeld’s book can be purchased at the Barnes & Noble, Route 9, Freehold Township, or through the Internet Web site www. greenwood.com.